Chapter 123: The Greatness of Muscle is the Greatness of Man
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 123: The Greatness of Muscle is the Greatness of Man
"Me?"
Startled by the sudden nomination, I stared at Sasha.
Sasha just shrugged and asked brazenly, "Is there a problem?"
"This isn't some class president election. Getting railroaded into this by a recommendation is a bit much..."
At that, the class president next to me pushed up her glasses and said, "For the record, I became class president through a recommendation too."
"......"
Well, that kind of leaves me with nothing to say, doesn't it?
While I stared at the two of them, at a complete loss for words, Rika chimed in with interest.
"I don't think it's a bad idea for Ryu-chan to participate. Right, Karen?"
"Hmm, well. It would be fun."
It seemed like they were all ganging up to get me on stage now.
The reason these guys were suddenly acting like this was probably because of what happened earlier.
As I hesitated, unsure of what to do, the MC cut in at the perfect moment.
"Alright, how about this? We'll play a simple game. If I win, you participate. If you win, you don't have to."
"What kind of game?"
"Let's settle this like men. Rock-paper-scissors."
That certainly didn't sound too bad.
I was inwardly marveling at the MC's skillful handling of the situation when...
"Excuse me, are you still taking applications?"
Suddenly, Yaguchi, who had been quiet until now, also raised her hand.
"Yes! Of course!"
"What!"
Seeing this, Ryuji jumped in surprise, as if struck by a bad premonition.
"I'd like to recommend this person."
And just as I'd expected, the person Yaguchi recommended was none other than Ryuji, who was sitting right next to her.
"Wait a minute! I never said a single word about participating!"
"Refusal is not an option."
"...Yes, ma'am."
Overwhelmed by her intensity, Ryuji meekly accepted his fate.
Still, our participation wasn't set in stone yet, so a sliver of hope remained.
"Then this gentleman here will also play rock-paper-scissors with me."
The MC, who had been watching our exchange, skillfully wrapped things up and raised his right hand above his head.
"So everyone else can see the result, please raise your hands above your heads."
I followed his instructions and raised my right arm over my head.
"Alright, shall we begin?"
With that, the atmosphere in the venue naturally heated up.
"Scissors."
Everyone shouted along with the MC.
"Rock."
Why was I so worked up over this? I swallowed hard with tension without even realizing it.
"Paper!!"
And the result was—
"Yes! We were delayed for a moment taking on-the-spot contestants, but the Onjuku Beach Swimsuit Contest is back onnnn!!"
"I'm going to lose my mind."
It was my complete and utter defeat.
*
Having lost at rock-paper-scissors in front of everyone, I couldn't back out now.
In the end, as punishment for the outrageous crime of trying to have a mixer with college girls, I was semi-forcibly entered into the swimsuit contest.
"...Let's do our best."
"...Yeah."
And Ryuji had been forced to participate as well.
Maybe it wasn't just bad luck. Perhaps the laws of romantic comedy had led us onto this stage.
Since Ryuji and I were late entries, we were assigned the very last spots.
"Woooooah!"
Watching from backstage, I realized that the three-minute "appeal time" given to each person was much longer than I'd expected.
It might seem short at first glance, but if you think about a presentation or a group project announcement, it's an eternity.
After all, you had to show off your charm in front of dozens of strangers.
Thinking again that this really wasn't for me, I watched the swimsuit-clad contestants on stage trying all sorts of things.
"Contestant number 17! Where are you from!"
"Ah, my name is Yoshida Kenichi, and I run a small fitness center in Tokyo."
The muscular man with bronze skin said, striking a pose naturally.
A side chest. A pose that emphasizes the pectoral, bicep, and calf muscles.
Even at a glance, his body was at a professional level. He'd probably competed before.
"What made you decide to participate in this contest?!"
"I heard the Onjuku Beach swimsuit contest is quite famous around here. An acquaintance of mine competed and won before, so I got curious and decided to enter."
The man said, flashing a handsome smile that revealed his pearly white teeth.
At that, screams erupted from the women in the audience.
He had the exact look of a trainer who's popular with the ladies at the gym.
Ryuji, who was watching with me, commented, "Not as much as you, but that guy's muscles are incredible too."
Then, the foreign ghost floating behind Ryuji's back made a harsh critique.
"Hmph. Even so, those are just muscles for show. There's no practicality to be found."
He definitely wasn't talking to me, but I took damage all the same.
What would he say if he knew my muscles were also built in a gym?
But I had to keep it a secret that I could see him, so I had to bite my tongue.
Anyway, thanks to the MC's skillful hosting, the three minutes passed in a flash, and the man named Yoshida Kenichi came down from the stage.
Wearing trunk-style swim shorts, he glanced my way as he came down the stairs.
It was a look that seemed to be sizing me up, but I pretended not to notice and looked away.
I figured it would be awkward if he tried to talk to me.
Fortunately, his gaze quickly moved on, and just as he disappeared from view, I heard the MC on stage call for the next person.
"What do I do! What do I do!"
The female contestant in a bikini standing before the stairs was fidgeting nervously, repeating "What do I do," before walking onto the stage with creaky, robotic steps.
Of course, it was no surprise that she failed her three-minute appeal time.
Having witnessed an embarrassing moment being created in real-time, Ryuji and I vowed not to do anything humiliating when we went up.
*
It felt like it would never come, but eventually, my turn arrived.
Ryuji, who was right before me, captured the audience's attention during his three-minute appeal time by showing off some acrobatic tumbling moves.
He'd said he learned judo at Yaguchi's dojo for over ten years, and he was clearly very skilled at using his body.
Unlike me, who's generally stiff, he possessed a certain flexibility, I guess?
Just as you'd expect from a shonen manga protagonist.
"Alright then! Will our final contestant, number 28, please come out!"
"Good luck, Yoo-Sung-ah!"
"...Yeah."
I walked onto the stage, buoyed by Ryuji's less-than-helpful encouragement.
Perhaps because the preliminary round had already been going on for nearly an hour and a half, the audience was also showing clear signs of fatigue.
And the judges looked just as bored.
Well, people usually come to these contests to see the pretty girls, so I can't say I don't understand.
As I walked to the center of the stage, the MC approached and shoved a microphone in my face.
"Alright, our final contestant is the gentleman who joined us on the spot earlier! Please tell us your age, name, and where you're from!"
Though taken aback by the microphone thrust uncomfortably close to my face, I meekly complied with his request.
"Uh... I'm Kim Yoo-Sung, a 17-year-old high school student from Setagaya Ward, Tokyo."
At that, a murmur started to spread through the audience.
"What's with that voice..."
"Did he say 17? With that face?"
"He's kidding, right?"
It seemed they didn't quite believe me.
But since I had no way of proving I was a high school student right then and there, I just kept my mouth shut. The MC, perhaps to dispel the atmosphere, let out an exaggerated laugh and said,
"Hahahaha! It seems our swimsuit contest has gotten so famous that we even have foreigners participating now!"
He probably mistook me for a tourist, but I didn't feel the need to correct him at this point, so I stayed quiet.
"Well then! It's time for the three-minute appeal time! What kind of charm will Kim Yoo-Sung from Korea show us!"
With that, the MC naturally set the stage for me.
"......"
Now, it was entirely up to me to get a reaction from the crowd.
"Hoo—"
I took a small, deep breath to calm my nerves.
And then, I whipped off the t-shirt I was wearing.
Thud!
Revealing an almost excessively muscular body.
I felt a strange sense of liberation as the sea breeze hit my skin.
Then, I naturally turned my back to the audience and struck a pose.
Just like that guy, Yoshida Kenichi, had done on stage earlier.
But contrary to my expectations, the audience's reaction was strangely cold.
In the dead silence, someone from the judges' table shot up from their seat.
"It's a god...!"
It was the owner of the beach hut I'd met earlier.
He clapped by himself, his face filled with emotion as he muttered, "The god of muscles has descended upon the earth...!"
It was a ridiculous statement, but not a single person pointed it out.
Maybe it was because his daughter, who would have called him out on his behavior, wasn't here.
As if his actions were contagious, the audience members began to clap, one by one.
"Woooooooooah!!"
Before long, the applause grew to a thunderous roar, filling the small event space.
'What? What's happening?'
I had only struck a single pose, yet the reaction was as intense as if I'd won a gold medal at the Olympics. I stood there, completely bewildered, not knowing what to do.